Gay Chinese see hope in visit by Icelandic PM and spouse
冰島女總理偕配偶訪中 同志族群看見新希望

Iceland’s Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, left, talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on April 16.四月十六日，冰島總理約翰娜‧希古爾達多蒂爾（左）與中國國家主席習近平在中國北京人民大會堂舉行的會議中交談。

Photo: Reuters照片：路透

The recent visit to China by Iceland’s prime minister and her same-sex spouse has given rise to tentative hopes among gay Chinese that widespread news coverage could be a first step towards more openness about homosexuality at home.

It is not illegal to be gay in China, but it remains a largely taboo subject that baffles many in the world’s most populous nation thanks to decades of prudish Chinese Communist Party rule, despite numerous homosexual references in classical Chinese literature.

“This visit creates a quandary for China,” said Ah Qiang, a gay rights advocate in Guangzhou. “Everyone is looking to see how the official media will cover it. They have to at least admit that this is happening.”

“When I heard her thanking Li Keqiang for the treatment her wife received, I thought that I misheard,” one commenter said on microblog Sina Weibo, referring to the CCTV footage, widely seen as a bellwether for official tolerance.